People driving on Victorian roads are experiencing smoother and more reliable journeys everyday as the Victorian Government’s massive program of road maintenance works wraps up for this season.
Minister for Roads and Road Safety Ben Carroll said the blitz has strengthened and smoothed more than 1,800 kilometres of road while supporting more than 1,500 Victorian jobs as part of the Government’s $653.5 million investment over two years to rebuild and resurface arterial roads.
On top of this, maintenance crews filled more than 230,000 potholes, repaired or replaced 41,000 signs and mowed more than 53,500 kilometres of roadside grass.
In regional Victoria, around 1,500 kilometres of road was repaired, resurfaced and rebuilt including on the Geelong Ring Road, Bells Boulevarde Jan Juc, Sunraysia Highway, Calder Highway, Princes Highway and Hume Freeway.
Across Melbourne, roads are now stronger and more durable with asphalt resurfacing completed on key arterial roads including the Monash Freeway, Princes Freeway and Cranbourne-Frankston Road.
Rebuilding projects were delivered on roads requiring more extensive work including the Melba Highway at Dixons Creek, Mornington-Tyabb Road at Moorooduc, Healesville-Koo Wee Rup Road in Pakenham and Campbellfield-Greensborough Road in Thomastown.
Crews worked around the clock to improve the West Gate bridge, with waterproofing and asphalt works targeting the steel sections of the bridge to benefit the hundreds of thousands of motorists who use it every day.
A strong focus on environmental initiatives saw 15,000 tonnes of recycled materials – such as glass, plastic and tyres – used in the creation of more durable country roads for tourism, freight and local drivers.
Around 2,212 out-of-hours callouts were also attended by crews to make sure roads are safe – totalling more than 5,000 working hours removing hazards like trees or debris, attending accidents and assessing roads impacted by fires or floods.
Vital investment for Victoria’s road network will continue with preparations underway for the next job-supporting maintenance blitz, set to begin when the weather warms up.
To keep up to date with other road projects visit vicroads.vic.gov.au or regionalroads.vic.gov.au
Quotes attributable to Minister for Roads and Road Safety Ben Carroll
“We’ve delivered stronger and smoother roads through this massive road maintenance investment – with vital works now complete on 1,800 kilometres of roads across Victoria.”
“We’ve completed a huge amount of work during this massive road maintenance blitz - on any given night more than 100 workers were on the ground in Melbourne and more than 1,500 jobs were supported right across the state.”
Reviewed 08 September 2020